1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hand tools, and more particularly to indexing hammers and crowbars.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hammer is known in the art to have a handle rigidly attached to a fixed hammer head and claw that is somewhat orthogonal to said handle. The claw can be used as a nail extractor having a slot into which the head of a nail can be inserted, and when a torque is applied to the handle, the nail can be caused to be removed. The claw is often in the form of a slotted v-cut therein adapted to allow a nail to be removed from a structure (e.g., wall, ceiling, floor). However, such hammers have claws that are fixed with respect to the hammer head, thus, in some situations (e.g., tight corners), making it difficult to position the claw to extract nails.
Similarly, a crowbar has a handle or a metal bar and a curved claw that is somewhat orthogonal to the handle or metal bar. The claw can be used as a nail extractor having a slot into which the head of a nail can be inserted, and when torque is applied to the handle or metal bar, the nail can be caused to be removed. As with the hammer, the claw is often in the form of a slotted v-cut therein adapted to allow a nail or a board to removed from a structure (e.g., wall, ceiling, floor). Such crowbars have claws that are fixed with respect to the handle or metal bar, thus, in some situations (e.g., tight corners), making it difficult to position the claw to extract nails or to remove boards.
Accordingly, a hammer with an adjustable claw is needed that allows the claw to be adjusted with respect to the hammer head to make it easier to position the claw to extract nails. Similarly, an adjustable, crowbar with an adjustable claw is needed that allows the claw to be adjusted with respect to the handle or metal bar to make it easier to position the claw.